Peegs.com has learned that Shawn Heffern has committed to the Hoosiers. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound standout from Carmel (IN) Carmel H.S. is the 16th commit for Kevin Wilson and his staff in the 2012 recruiting class, and the ninth one from the state of Indiana.

Heffern picked the Hoosiers over offers from Purdue, Central Michigan, Toledo and Western Michigan. He was also receiving heavy interest from Michigan State, Northwestern and Notre Dame. The athletic prospect was at Indiana last month for an unofficial visit, and he told Peegs.com that he enjoyed getting a chance to spend time with the coaches and the players.

"I was down there on June 18th and I spent the night and hung out with Adam Replogle," Heffern said. "My first impression was it seems like a family. Everyone was real close with each other. It just seemed like a real family atmosphere more than a football program, which I really liked. I got to sit down with Coach (Kevin) Wilson and Coach (Mark) Hagen, and I can definitely tell IU is headed in the right direction. There were a few other prospects there and I had a good time."

Heffern has mainly been a defensive end in high school, but some schools have mentioned moving him to the offensive line once he gets to college. He said that while he feels more comfortable on defense, he understands his best position at the next level is probably as an offensive tackle.

"They said I am going to start at defensive end and see how my body develops," he said when asked what IU has said to him about where he will play if he goes there. "I think that I will end up being a bigger guy like that. My dad played offensive line at around 315 (pounds), so if my body grows into an offensive lineman I will be an offensive lineman, and if I don't gain that much weight I will be a defensive end. Based on what some schools are telling me I think my potential may be best on offensive at tackle. I feel like the easiest way to get on the field is by being versatile, so I'm just going to let the coaches do their job and put me at the position they think I can help them succeed at."